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Friday, November 18, 2016

Review: FORCE 2

The Villain Who Talked Too Much

2.5 stars

Mini Review:

Have you ever come across a villain who talks so much you know the hero is driving like a man possessed just to get away from his bak-bak! Well, Mumbai Police officer ACP Yashvardhan (John Abraham) and RAW agent KK (Sonakshi Sinha) have to deal with the most talkative villain ever on our screens. Ever. No amount of violence to finally put him out, shut him up is then bad.

Main Review:

John Abraham's angry ACP once again kicks, punches and shoots his way to the baddie, his biceps flexed permanently, his dimple flashing rarely. As they say in Hindi cinema parlance, 'John ki entry dhaansu hai!' He has to get his man to a court hearing, and he shows up in a white shirt (takes a couple of minutes to come off, hallelujah!) and yesssssssssss! The muscles are all there and we've heard so much about him being a fitness freak, that we gape in awe at his muscleness!

But when it comes to the mission, he has to play second fiddle to a RAW agent (Sonakshi Sinha) who is a stickler about protocols and obeying orders. The mission is to catch a baddie who is having field agents killed one by one.

And he talks... So much we know immediately that he is an Indian with a grudge.

This is a paint by numbers cops and robbers film, and it delivers fast-paced action from the word 'go'. Nothing wrong with a bullet-fest and bombs blowing up and double crosses and gun-shot wounds and chases on rooftops. Nothing wrong at all. But the film could have done with a dose of humor, which could have made the film immensely enjoyable (there are a couple of moments, but not enough).

Thankfully there’s no romance between the two lead actors to dilute this relentless action-packed bullet-riddled Budapest fest.

Speaking of women agents, it's not an original idea. You have seen in scores of spy movies before. The woman agent either turns out to be super efficient and can hit better than the hero, or she’s a stickler for rules and becomes more of a roadblock than help. But the woman spy is always given some skill that makes the partnership equal in some way. Unfortunately, Sonakshi Sinha is not given any extra skill that enamors us to her. She seems strident about following rules and her data analysis seems to be wrong every time. But she does kick butt. She was good in Akira, and she looks even better in Force 2.

The villain (even when he's not on screen), is talking... Or you imagine him to be talking.

The problem lies not with the paint by numbers thriller where the good guys are chasing the baddie. The problem lies with giving the villain too much screen time. Where is the good old fashioned duct-tape when you need one? The taunting, the baiting by the villain just did not work and though the surprises are many, you just want to fast forward to the next set piece.

The parkour and the video game style killing of the villain’s goons goes on and on, but the end makes it worthwhile. You want to ask how the villain affords these henchmen, and you groan at his never-ending emotional response to everything. It’s an overdose. You want an unrepentant Gabbar Singh like villain, who does not need a sad, pathetic history to be a bad guy.

P.S. Death comes too easily to someone who talks so much. I imagined a torture scene where the villain is tied to a chair, mouth shut by duct tape, and John lets him say one word and shuts the tape back again! what fun!